Aardkundige waarden als rode draad: informatievoorziening voor Geopark De Hondsrug.

Abstract

This rapport describes the outcomes of a research project on information services focused on geological-, cultural-historical- and ecological phenomenons, which are to be found in the ‘Hondsrug-area’ in the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands. In this area, the development of a geopark is planned. This geopark is to be called ‘Geopark De Hondsrug’.

For this research a selection of locations was made, where, during the period in which this research was performed, information services for the use of visitors were offered. At these specific locations, the inventory of information services was taken and the information hereby collected was analysed. The results of this inventory and analyses were compared to a set of criteria which were, preliminary to the inventory and analyses, composed on the base of a theoretical chapter complemented with a small research of the information services collected in three other, already functioning, geoparks in Europe. From the theoretical chapter became clear that the process of interpretation and the mindset of the visitor are of great importance in the design of information services for geoparks. The geoparks of which the information services were analysed are: Geopark Harz in Germany, Geopark Shetland in Great Britain and Geopark Meckelenburgische Eiszeit-landschaft in Germany.

From the results of this research became apparent that the information services in the Geopark De Hondsrug area, in their current state, do not meet the criteria for information services in geoparks. For the realization of Geopark De Hondsrug to be successful, it is of the utmost significance that information services are produced that do meet these criteria.